While the cornerstone Rockets center considers treatment options, the Rockets began the free agent shopping season at the front door of a player they hope will fill in for him.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey began his recruiting efforts to sign Magic backup center Marcin Gortat at 11:01 p.m., the first minute teams could begin speaking to free agents.

Though free agent guard Ron Artest has indicated that his free agency decision will not be impacted by the uncertainty surrounding Yao Ming and the Rockets held out hope that Yao would return next season, the Rockets wasted no time starting the chase for a center to man the middle while Yao is out and beyond.

More than ever, however, Gortat, 25, might fit the Rockets’ needs best. A high-energy, 6-11, 240 pound center, Gortat averaged just 3.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, playing 12.6 minutes per game as Dwight Howard’s backup last season.

He is considered a strong enough prospect that an individual with knowledge of the Rockets decision-making said that the team had decided to target Gortat to serve as Yao’s backup even when the team thought Yao’s hairline fracture would have healed by now.

"I don’t do speculation stuff, but from a basketball point of view, I’ve read there appears to be an unfortunate problem with Yao’s health and if Yao cannot play, that creates a particular need for Marcin," Guy Zucker, Gortat’s agent, said adding he has not yet spoken with the Rockets. "He is the type of character that would fit very well there because they have done a great job choosing … hard working, team oriented players.

"It (playing for the Rockets) is a very, very, very interesting prospect. Athletically it is a rarity to find a seven-footer that can run, move laterally, cover several positions on defense and whose rebounding is improving the way Marcin’s is. Houston is an intriguing possibility. There is a sudden availability of playing time, a winning organization, good management and a very, very good coach, obviously."

Zucker said the prospect of Yao returning to his starting center spot would not be a negative because he thought that Yao’s ongoing health issues would likely have the Rockets limiting his playing time.

Gortat is a restricted free agent, giving the Magic the opportunity to match any offer he receives. The Magic, however, have already exceeded the expected luxury tax threshold with only eight signed players.

If Gortat is to receive a full mid-level exception – worth $5.6 in the first year last season – it would cost the Magic a minimum of $11.2 million in tax and salary the first season to match an offer. The Rockets or another team could structure an offer to make the first year even more burdensome for the Magic to match, an increasingly common practice with restricted free agents.

While the Rockets face the uncertainty about when Yao will play in again and who will fill in for him, they can be certain about where they stand with Artest.

Artest’s agent David Bauman said Yao’s condition has not changed Artest’s desire to return to the Rockets next season.

"Our first choice is to do a deal with Houston," Bauman said. "Yao’s situation doesn’t change that. It has not affected us one way or another.

"He’s concerned more for Yao than anything."

With Yao, Artest had considered the Rockets to be contenders and cited that potential as one of the reasons he hoped to sign with the Rockets as a free agent this summer.

Bauman said that he and Artest are confident that if Yao does miss much or all of next season, the Rockets have the depth and roster flexibility to make moves without stepping back to rebuild.

"The beauty of what Daryl (Morey, the Rockets general manager) has done, is the Rockets are not just Yao Ming," Bauman said. "They are Ron. They are Aaron (Brooks). They are Shane (Battier) And they are (Luis) Scola. That’s the great thing about this team. They can fire on five or six different cylinders."

Bauman would not discuss contract demands. Besides the Rockets, who can exceed the salary cap to sign Artest, there are few teams that have the salary cap room to offer Artest a contract larger than the mid-level exception, worth $5.6 million last season.

When the Rockets traded for Artest last summer, Artest and Bauman asked to put off contract negotiations because the maximum extension at the time, four years and $37 million, might not have been market value.

"We know what we want," Bauman said. "I think the market will support that. Our first choice is to sit down with those guys. He wants to come back to Houston. That’s his first choice. We have to balance all those considerations as does Houston."